


Mortui Vivos Docent

by TimeturnerJay



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate title: the author is an archaeologist and it shows, Angst, As you do, Bittersweet Ending, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), the gang goes grave robbing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:30:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25190164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimeturnerJay/pseuds/TimeturnerJay
Summary: In hindsight, with all the time travelling they had been doing, stumbling across a grave like this had probably been inevitable.
Comments: 55
Kudos: 408





	Mortui Vivos Docent

**Author's Note:**

> The Linked Universe belongs to Jojo56830 and can be found here: https://linkeduniverse.tumblr.com

Legend's timeline, as usual, brought with it its fair share of surprises.  
In part, this was because the hero in question didn't particularly enjoy his companions traipsing all over his lands.  
The other Links didn't know most of his kingdom's tales and circumstances, and Legend was perfectly content to keep it that way. He kept his friends close, and his secrets closer.

Given his extensive travels though, it was indeed a very rare occurrence for Legend _himself_ to find himself equally as surprised by anything his timeline had to offer.  
Naturally, he sardonically mused to himself, it just had to happen while he was in the questionable company of the whole group.

They had been tracking a large group of Moblins for the better part of two days now, after Queen Zora had hinted that her soldiers had found their weapons coated in black blood after engaging with them.  
Hyrule had looked uneasy throughout the whole interaction, and Legend couldn't fault him. No matter how highly the others spoke of the Zora tribes, it didn't change the fact that he mistrusted them greatly. They used to attack him on sight, and even now, they treated him with frigid politeness at best and open hostility at worst.  
Legend was only too glad to return the favour.

Still, the presence of the infected monsters couldn't be ignored.  
As such, Legend had guided the other heroes down through the domain of the Zoras and towards Lake Hylia, where the moblins had last been seen.

He cast a disdainful look in the direction of the House of Gales across the vast expanse of water and turned away with a huff, his eyes coming to rest on Twilight instead.  
The man had taken on his animal form a few hours ago – where the others assumed the Hero of Twilight had gone, Legend didn't want to know. Frankly, he was a little appalled by the fact that it had taken him this long to figure it out himself, and that it had taken a magic item for him to realise the truth on top of that.

In hindsight, it seemed insultingly obvious.

Currently, the Hero of Twilight was in the very dignified pose of snout-pressed-into-the-dirt, trying to re-discover their lost scent trail, and Legend caught Four and Wild exchanging an amused glance.  
Four he could cope with – nothing ever got past the little guy anyway, so no surprise there – but the fact that Wild had figured out the wolf's true form long before Legend had was, frankly, doubly insulting. Then again, he mused, the Champion was perhaps more insightful than he let on. They all had their secrets.  
And he was positive that they knew that he knew, too – he hadn't been exactly subtle in his attempts to get Twilight to fess up.

Ah well. As long as they never found out about a certain fluffy pink secret of his, he was perfectly fine with this outcome.  
All things considered, that night could've gone a lot worse.

Yeah.  
He was feeling pretty good about today, honestly.

Naturally, the goddesses chose that exact moment for the ground to give in beneath his feet.  
Legend wasn't even mad. Okay, maybe just a little.  
He could appreciate some good irony.

Lucky for him, he didn't fall very far.  
Which was great, because the floor beneath him certainly wasn't very forgiving.

He landed with a crash, his bag of equipment clanking loudly in protest, and allowed himself a single moment to simply groan dramatically.  
Self-care was important like that.

He opened his eyes with some trepidation, hoping against hope that he hadn't stumbled straight into some secret dungeon (again), and was pleasantly surprised when all that greeted him was silence.  
Silence, and the scent of old, long-forgotten dust.

The hole in the ground he had fallen through painted a beam of golden sunlight into the darkness surrounding him, and for a second, he was entranced by the dust motes dancing through the air, glimmering as they caught the light and then disappearing from sight again.

Warriors shoved his head into the hole, blocking out the light, and the short moment of peaceful serenity shattered.

The brief flash of concern vanished from the soldier's face the moment he spotted Legend, and a sly grin took its place.  
“Well, would you look at that. Too heavy for the ground now, are we? Maybe you should use your sword instead of your fancy magic every now and then. I think you could use the exercise.”

Legend didn't dignify that with a response – he was plenty fit, thank you very much – and instead got up with a huff, surveying his surroundings.

He seemed to have landed in some ancient hallway, the sloping ceiling constructed in a neat triangle shape. Looking up now, a few thick, stubborn roots had clearly wormed their way through the elegant stonework, weakening the structure enough for it to cave beneath his feet.

What he could see of the floor he was standing on was even more impressive though.  
A huge, intricate mosaic seemed to be covering the entire space, the sprawling designs and iconography mostly hidden by the still, steady shadows.  
The stone beads beneath his feet were green, laid into a background of white, every single piece cut into such astonishingly exact angles that Legend couldn't help but admire the flawless technique.

He brushed the dirt off his tunic absent-mindedly, and looked back up to the hole, where Warriors' face had been replaced by Hyrule's.  
The sorcerer's expression was somehow worried and excited at the same time.  
“Are you okay down there?”, he called, and his concern seemed to ease when Legend nodded in response.  
Hyrule shifted, precariously leaning further down to look into the underground chamber. “What is this place?”, he wondered aloud, gazing at the intricate shapes of carved rock with wonder in his eyes.

“Gimme a sec”, Legend murmured and turned his attention towards his bag, producing his lantern after some digging.  
It lit up with a whispered word, bathing the dark hallway in its bright, warm glow.

Legend couldn't help his startled intake of breath.

It was beautiful.

To his right, there was a sealed entrance, covered seemingly seamlessly by a gigantic slab of rock. If Legend had to guess, this door was the intended way inside and would require some specific spell in order to open. Not that he had ever seen it from the outside either – if this place really was as old as he thought it was, the entrance had likely long since been covered up by earth and grass, buried underneath the dirt of millennia.  
To the other side of the hallway sat another doorway, this one opening up into a looming darkness. The chamber proper, presumably.

What had really caught Legend's attention though were the carvings decorating every inch of the walls and ceiling.  
Wide eyes gazed at geometric patterns, strange and foreign but beautiful in their execution, shapes and runes cut into the naked rock.

There was only one pattern he recognised.  
The divine shape of the Triforce dominated large parts of the iconography, reoccurring symmetrically all throughout the relief, inlaid with gold leaf that caught the light of his lantern in a mesmerising way. It shone brightly, even after an uncounted eternity.

The mosaic beneath his feet was now revealed in its full glory too. He could make out different colours weaving in and out of shapes and pictures. Some seemed to be made out of coloured glass, or maybe even gemstones – Legend knew that there were not a lot of rocks that could produce such vibrant shades.  
Some parts of the mosaic seemed to be depicting people, but he couldn't make out the details from where he was standing.  
Nor did he care to find out. The grandeur surrounding him had left something of a bitter aftertaste in his mouth.

He looked back up towards Hyrule. Wind had joined the brown-haired hero by the hole, blocking out most of the natural light.  
Both of them looked unduly excited.

Legend weighed his words for a moment.  
“If I had to guess, this is probably a tomb.” His voice echoed hollowly in the underground space, and his eyes once again fell upon one of the many golden Triforce symbols. “Presumably a member of the royal family. This place practically reeks of goddess worship.”

“ _Coooooool_ ”, Wind breathed, and a rope dropped down into the hallway, the other end fastened somewhere out of sight. The Hero of Winds didn't even bother climbing, and simply jumped down, breaking his fall with the swing of a large, green leaf.  
That seemed to be all the invitation the others needed, as one by one, they dropped into the cavern, talking in hushed, reverent whispers. Even Twilight was exploring the space with barely-concealed curiosity shining in his eyes. When the man had even found the opportunity to transform back into a human unnoticed, Legend had no desire to know.

He grimaced.  
This might as well be happening.

He sidled up next to Four, who tended to be the only other reasonable person in this madhouse of a group. Then again, he too had jumped down here without a second thought, so “reasonable” was perhaps a very relative term.  
“Guess I shouldn't have expected that everyone would agree to just let me climb out of here so we can leave, huh?”, he grumbled. “No, of course we have to explore the creepy tomb.”

Four just shrugged, his eyes trained on the murals. Every few seconds, he would turn to some other part of the chamber, silently cataloguing every detail.  
Suddenly, he stilled.  
Legend followed his gaze – he seemed to be staring at some empty patch of floor, his face blank and unreadable.

“Four?”

Legend's voice seemed to break him from his trance, and he shook his head as if to clear it.  
“Sorry”, he murmured, sounding lost in thought. “I just thought I saw something over there. It was probably nothing.”

Alarmed, Legend narrowed his eyes at the shadowy corner of the floor. He knew better than to ignore an ' _I thought I saw something_ ' when in some goddess-forsaken underground place.  
He wasn't going to get himself ambushed. No thanks.  
Four seemed to sense the shift in his attention, and clapped him on the shoulder with his left hand. “Let it go”, he said, and his smile looked genuine enough. “It was just a trick of the light. You know how shadows cast by fire can be.”

Legend cast one last glare at the empty breadth of floor and turned away, feeling uneasy.  
“I swear to Hylia”, he grumbled as he made his way back to the front of the group, “-if this turns out to be another dungeon, you guys owe me _so_ much money.”  
Sky chuckled good-naturedly as he passed him, not looking particularly contrite at all. “Come on Veteran, admit it. You're curious.”

Not offering a reply, the Hero of Legend simply groaned and lifted the lantern up higher as he strode through the open doorway and into the main chamber.

Above his head, a large relief of the royal Triforce caught the light of the fire, glimmering in silent judgement.

The first thing Legend noticed when he entered the new chamber was that it was too large to be fully illuminated by the feeble light of his lamp.  
His steps echoed loudly in the empty darkness around him, and he paused to listen for any potential danger.

The only sounds that reached his ears were the shouts of his companions, complaining at him for withdrawing their source of light as they scrambled to catch up with him.  
_Tch_. It wasn't like they didn't have countless fire-related items of their own. Lazy.

He looked around in his little circle of lamplight and noticed a few torches fastened to the wall on either side of the doorway.  
Perfect.  
It only took a swipe with the lantern for the magical fire to catch, and the torches lit up brightly, spreading their glow throughout the dark chamber.  
Legend noted, with some curiosity, that the torches didn't seem to be burning down at all – the flames were dancing around the oil-soaked cloth merrily, but it stayed unblemished and perfectly pristine. Magical items, then.  
Whoever was buried in this tomb really must've been a big deal once upon a time.

And it showed, too.

Now revealed by the light of the torches was a breathtaking display of craftsmanship.  
The vast chamber was circular, and the high, domed ceiling was held up by four slender, intricately hewn pillars. They and the surrounding walls were decorated with beautiful carvings and paints, continuing the fascinating patterns from the earlier room.  
A large mural seemed to be taking up some space at the far wall of the chamber. Most of it was still hidden in shadow – Legend thought he could make out the painted silhouette of a person, and a few more torches that would help illuminate the art piece.

All this, of course, was dwarfed by the centrepiece of the room.

On a three-step platform, surrounded on all sides by the supporting pillars, stood a large, ornate casket hewn from white, shimmering marble.  
It, too, was decorated with reliefs – the pieces seemed to be displaying a stylised man acting out several different scenes from his life, interacting with other people and fighting off hordes of enemies.  
This, surely, was the person who was buried here.  
The royal family did so enjoy their own glamorous portrayals.

A low whistle sounded from behind him and Legend looked over, watching as Wild stepped into the room next to him. He cast an appreciative glance around the chamber.  
“Sweet! Look at all this loot!”

Legend couldn't help but incline his head in agreement. At least this detour hadn't turned out to be pointless.  
The rounded walls of the underground space were lined with some of the most gorgeous weapons Legend had ever seen, swords and lances and axes and halberds and daggers and some weapon types he couldn't even identify at a glance – but even then, he could tell that every single one was a masterpiece, the shining metal somehow polished and rust-free even after an eternity spent in this dark, silent place.

There was a loud crash from somewhere to his left and he whirled around, blade already drawn before he had even fully registered what was going on.  
Warriors stared back at him with a somewhat sheepish expression, the broken shards of a vase lying at his feet. From in-between them, the subtle shine of purple rupees was winking in the firelight.  
“What?”, Warriors defended. “Not like the dead guy needs them anymore.”

Already, several other crashes sounded from various parts of the room as the heroes descended upon its riches like a bunch of greedy vultures.

With a sigh, Legend eyed the numerous other urns and pots that sat in the chamber, organised in what was probably a very intentional and meaningful pattern in-between the various weapon stands.  
Each vase was painted beautifully, with different images depicting legendary characters and myths.  
Really, it was quite the artistic marvel.

“Yeah, screw it”, he agreed half-heartedly and kicked over the nearest pot, watching it shatter on the pretty mosaic floor.  
Several golden rings gleamed up at him from amongst the shards, and he crouched down to scoop them into his bag.  
As he was getting back up, his gaze once again fell upon Four, who was lingering in the doorway – the only member of their party who hadn't yet fully stepped into the main tomb.

He was staring at the weapons lining the chamber as, one by one, they disappeared into Wild's Sheikah Slate.  
His eyes were wide in what was perhaps the most blatant expression of confusion Legend had ever seen on the little guy's face. Huh.  
“You okay there, Four?”, he called out, letting the last of the rings clink into his bag. “If you want any of those blades, you'll have to be quick about it. The Champion doesn't seem intent on sharing.”

Four shook his head, still looking a bit dazed. “No, I-”  
He didn't get any further than that, his eyes instead drawn to a broken pot a few paces away, which Time had already finished liberating of its riches.  
Legend squinted at the broken pottery as Four knelt down next to it and reached into the shattered mess. He couldn't make out anything special, but Four must've found what he was looking for, because he was cupping something between his hands, studying it with a gentle frown and murmuring softly to himself.  
Ah well. Maybe Time had just missed an item.

Speaking of which – he better get back to looting.  
The others would grab all the good stuff for themselves if he didn't hurry it up.

“Hey, Legend?”  
He turned back around to find himself fixed with a surprisingly intense stare from their shortest incarnation. Involuntarily, a shiver ran down his spine.  
“This area... It used to be a forest, right?”, Four asked bluntly.

Legend hummed in thought. Come to think of, back in Time's Hyrule, the Lost Woods had been covering large parts of these lands, hadn't they?  
“I suppose so. Allegedly, Ganon messed up the whole kingdom when he took over. According to the myths, he burned down all living things and tore large scars into the blackened lands, which eventually filled up with water and became lakes and rivers. Yadda, yadda. Hell, his wrath is even said to have levelled whole mountains.”

Four grimaced.  
Ah, right. He probably knew a lot of those places from his own time period. Whoops.

The Hero of Legend watched as Four's gaze once again returned to his cupped hands. He seemed to be mouthing a few more words, and after a moment of silence, he bowed his head as if weighed down by some terrible sorrow as he got up from his crouched position.  
Legend caught another glimpse of his face as Four walked by, and he frowned. The other Hero's expression was drawn, a look of bleak acceptance etched into every feature. His eyes seemed very far away.

The Hero of the Four Sword approached the raised platform slowly, his distant gaze trained on the coffin.  
Around them, the noise of raised voices and breaking pottery faded into the background – Legend found his attention captivated by this uncharacteristic display of emotion instead. The little guy was usually so in-control of himself.

Four paused there, seemingly trying to collect himself as he took a long, laboured breath.  
He reached out an uncertain hand, light fingers tracing the artfully crafted engravings decorating the sarcophagus, studying each with such care and sorrowful wonder that Legend, standing amongst the broken shards of his treasure hunt, suddenly felt rather wretched indeed.

A hush fell over the chamber as the others, likewise, paused in their conquest.

All eyes were on Four, though he didn't seem to notice the attention as he opened his bag, pulling out a lantern of his own.  
The young blacksmith cast one last look at the marble casket as he stepped around it, and Legend once again caught his eyes – he felt the breath escape his lungs at the sheer _vastness_ of emotion that was telegraphed on the other's face. Usually so guarded, Four's expression was now an open book; it seemed almost _too much_ to read, like so many different emotions were warring for dominance that they had all blended together into a world-weary grief so profound that even Legend had no name for it.

Four turned away and the moment shattered, and Legend watched from behind as the Hero of Men lit his lantern and raised it up above his head, bathing the far wall in its light.

Truly, the goddesses enjoyed their irony.  
But this was simply cruel.

Revealed by the light was the painted likeness of a man, sword raised in the air in a valiant pose, hat and tunic indicating the classic iconography of The Hero as if the Triforce cast from solid gold above his head wasn't evidence enough.

For all who knew him, his long blonde hair and colourful garb made the inscription below him superfluous.

_Here lies_  
_In eternal rest_  
_Our guardian and teacher_  
_Loyal and true of heart_  
_Link_  
_Hero of Men_  
_Master of the holy Four Sword_

There was a moment of silence, terrible and hollow, only broken by a trembling exhale passing through Four's lips.  
He lowered the arm holding up the lantern, and turned around with a wan smile on his face.  
It didn't look genuine.

Legend couldn't help but cast one last glance at the mural before it was, once again, plunged into shadow.  
The painted Hero had looked older than his breathing counterpart, a grown man where the other was still waiting for his body to mature.

But he hadn't looked _old_ either.

It didn't have to mean anything, he mused, trying to silence his racing thoughts. The Hero was often portrayed in his prime, no matter his actual age.  
But there was something about the art piece, so detailed and lifelike and accurate, that suggested that it had been drawn from more than just distant memory.  
It was only natural, Legend supposed with the bitter taste of bile stinging the back of his throat, that some of them would die young.  
He swallowed roughly and turned around, his eyes falling on the mess they had made of the tomb. Broken pottery crunched beneath his heel.

He felt sick.

“I thought I recognised some of them”, came Four's quiet voice from the centre of the room. He sounded remarkably collected, given what had just been revealed.

His eyes were trained on the empty weapon stands, like a drowning man grasping for a handhold.  
“That lance, I-”, he cleared his throat. “I completed it just before Zelda sent me to investigate the strange portals that were opening up all across Hyrule. I spent several weeks on it, just folding the steel over and over again. It came out perfectly. One of the finest I've ever made. The most beautiful Damascus blade, and-” He broke off, eyes searching for another target.  
“There was a sabre over there, I think. I'd know it anywhere. It was my masterwork, the piece that finally elevated me from an apprentice to a Master Smith a few years ago. I remember spending months agonising over the balance and design, even though both my grandfather and Master Smith Melari kept telling me that it was fine. They were right, of course.”

He trailed off, a vague and distant smile on his face.

Wild moved, a pained expression on his face as he made to remove his Sheikah Slate from his hip, but Four stopped him with a jerking shake of his head.  
“No, keep them. They were meant to be used.” His smile became a bit more genuine, a bit more _there_. “At least these are blades that I can guarantee won't break on you.” His chuckle sounded hollow. “And if they do, I'll kick future me's ass for forging weapons that don't hold up to our quality standard.” He looked dazed for a moment. “-my quality standard”, he corrected belatedly.

No one was laughing.

“Four, this-” Twilight stepped forward, his brows furrowed in concern. “I hope you know that we are _so_ sorry about this. If we had known...”  
He was waved off by the shorter hero, whose smile was brittle. “No, I get it. It's what we do, right? I'm pretty sure we've all plundered our fair share of graves. If it's for the greater good of Hyrule-”

His gaze once again came to rest upon the sealed coffin, his throat bobbing as he swallowed.  
“You know, I'm really glad that they did all this for me, to remember me by. I'm really glad that they care this much. But Warriors is right.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Legend caught the scarf-wearing soldier wincing openly.

“What good are all these riches and items to me now? I'm just-” Four's breath hitched. “I'm just dead.”

He shook his head once again, more slowly and wearily than before.  
“Take whatever you need. Just please-” He eyed the broken vases and scattered rupees with a conflicted expression. “-try not to destroy anything else. The Minish are very upset. They say they've been taking care of this place for countless generations, and I hate seeing my little friends so devastated. They've worked hard to keep everything here in perfect condition.”

Legend didn't know who the Minish were, but they clearly meant a lot to Four. He looked more distressed now than he had even when he was confronted with the reality of his own death just minutes ago.

“Obviously”, he muttered, meeting the blacksmith's eyes for one guilty moment. “I don't think anyone here would've kept going now that we know that this is your...”  
Curse his Hylia-damned emotions. He couldn't even finish one simple sentence without getting choked up.

Four nodded gratefully anyway, like he had fully expected them to cheerfully desecrate their friend's grave, and inhaled deeply, clearly trying to centre himself.

“I'll be outside”, he murmured, glancing off to the side. “I think I need a moment to myself.”  
A brief smile tugged at his lips, as if he was enjoying some private joke, and then he was shouldering his way past Twilight and through the empty doorway, back into the dark hallway.

The chamber was filled with an uneasy silence as they watched him go.

No one looked thrilled at the prospect of continuing their search for treasure.

Legend took it upon himself to voice what they were all surely thinking. “Well, fuck.”  
Without a second glance, he turned away from the group and stomped after Four. He wasn't going to follow him – the little guy had requested some space, and there was no way Legend wasn't going to respect that wish.  
But he couldn't stay here, either.  
The atmosphere was stifling, too many unsaid words hanging between the members of the party, choking the air out of their lungs and tearing at their conscience with guilty claws.

And like _hell_ was Legend going to have a heart-to-heart with anyone over this mess.

He stepped out into the hallway, relishing in the cold air that suddenly brushed past his face (he hadn't even realised how hot it had gotten in that room), and watched with narrow eyes as Four's feet disappeared over the edge of the hole, Wind's rope swaying wildly from his ascent.

He breathed in sharply, turning around.  
He'd give the other hero a few minutes to get away before he would climb up himself. The sight of Lake Hylia would be a balm on his nerves, he knew.  
Goddess knew that Four wasn't the only one who needed a few moments to himself right now.

His steps echoed in the darkness as he paced back and forth in the enclosed space, too worked up to sit patiently.  
He should've known that something like this would happen. Four had been acting strangely ever since they had entered this place – clearly, he must've recognised the designs and iconography of his own time.  
Legend cursed to himself. The little guy was too perceptive for his own good, but apparently, no one else in this party of bumbling fools was. He sighed. He, too, was included in that group.

With a jolt, he thought back to the first thing that had really caught the other hero's attention after they had arrived here.  
He had waved it off as a trick of the light, but...  
Legend glanced around, trying to remember where they had been standing. The spot that had caught Four's attention so thoroughly had been somewhat off-centre from the left wall-

Right. There.

With narrowed eyes, Legend approached the spot the blacksmith had been staring at earlier.  
Still, there was nothing there, no movement or notable inscription on the wall, no items or weapons or living creatures, only air and the empty floor-  
Legend gritted his teeth in frustration. He would very much like to slap himself sometimes.

The mosaic, as it stretched across the floor of the entire underground space, had easily faded into the background, barely worthy of note.  
And yet, depicted here were some of the human figures that Legend had noticed and instantly dismissed when he had first entered this place.

He crouched down, tracing the lines of the cut stones with his fingers.  
The pictures were rather small, and the mosaic patchwork didn't allow for a lot of detail, but now that he was paying closer attention, he could make out the classic tunic-and-hat combination that so signified The Hero.  
But this wasn't just a single person – instead, the mosaic portrayed four different versions of the same man, mirror images of each other except for the colours they were clad in: green, purple, red and blue.

Whatever this meant, Four had clearly recognised it.

Secrets, Legend mused as he got up, were something that all of them kept.  
His gaze wandered up to the hole in the ceiling, where a few lazy clouds were trailing across the blue shard of sky that was visible from down here.  
Four would be long gone by now.  
Maybe one day, Legend thought to himself as he took hold of the rope, climbing up with smooth, efficient movements, they would trust each other enough to reveal some of their hidden burdens.

It was a sobering thought that had been awoken by this place; all of them would be dead one day.  
Most of them technically already were, depending on their point in time.

Maybe, just maybe, whatever time they had left would be more hopeful without the prospect of carrying the weight of the world on lone shoulders.  
Being The Hero was, by its very nature, a lonely fate.  
But by some twisted irony, they were not alone anymore.

Maybe just this once, they could find others who would understand.

Maybe one day, they would finally speak openly, and not hold anything back.

Maybe a life like that would be worth it, no matter how long or short it may be.  
Maybe he could hope, just this once.


End file.
